Pupdate

Life gets crazy, but I'm along for the ride. Right now, there just haven't been as many pit stops for blogging as I'd like.

Well, the cast has been off for a couple of weeks now! Bailey's pretty mobile (way too mobile, but that's just my opinion). She's supposed to stay calm for two more weeks (ha!), and then we're completely back in business. I should probably come clean - Mr. P and I haven't been overly diligent now that the cast is off. It's becoming increasingly difficult to keep a puppy calm during her first spring! Plus, she's started getting extra mouthy - it's not that she barks, but it's like she's talking back to us for not taking her out to play! Um, hello little missy, I need to put on my mom hat and teach you some manners!

But either way, she's still beautiful as ever:







Seriously, check out this scar - it's HUGE! Also exacerbated by the fact that Bailey's leg is soooo skinny in this picture ;) She's really started to build up the muscle again, and her back two legs are almost the same size now. If it weren't for the silly shave line, you might not even guess which leg had been hurt!


In other news, Mr. P and I went bowling with Pop and Schmoogie last weekend. Schmoogie plays on a league at school (do you "play" bowling, or do you just "bowl" a game?) and we fully expected to have our butts handed to us on a platter...



Actually, we all did pretty well, and I haven't laughed so hard in months. I think we may have to do it again soon :)

In other news, Mr. P and I have decided not to renew our lease and move out in June. The frustrations with our apartment are never-ending, and it's just not worth our stress anymore. G&A are moving to Oregon, so we'll be renting their house. While it's a little sad to think about not moving into a house of our own, it's just another step in that direction. So pretty soon, we'll be U City residents and say goodbye to Richmond Heights. I guess the newest life stress is thinking about the moving process - it's never any fun.

C has had a setback in her illness that I don't want to go into, but she's still hospitalized and I'm not sure when she'll be home. There are so many people who love her, and folks are taking off a week at a time to stay with her and make sure she's alright. I can't begin to tell you how much my family means to me - we have our dysfunctions, like most families, but when it comes down to it, there's nobody else I'd rather have in my corner.

This past Friday was Girls Night Out and I had a blast, as usual - the ladies are absolutely nuts, and I'm determined to stay longer next time. I have a sneaking suspicion that the later it gets, the raunchier and sillier it gets. My favorite thing is that we're all so different and have such different lives, but our common thread is the STLWed board. After so many of my old friends have moved away from St. Louis and as hard as it can be to make new girlfriends as I get older, I have to say that these get togethers hold a special place. Many thanks to Christie and Harvey for hosting, and to the rest of the ladies just for being there!

On Sunday, we made our way to South City Diner for brunch with Mom P. I just love this woman. Seriously, I don't think I could have been blessed with a better mother-in-law. Loved our meal and loved the company. Wish we got to spend more time with her than we do!

Mr. P's making me breakfast for dinner, so I'm gonna go enjoy that, but hope to be updating more again soon!

Earthquake?

I suddenly woke up out of a deep sleep this morning and shoved Mr. P to get him to close the window...

Me: "P, close the window, someone's on the roof trying to break in!" (because that makes SO much sense, closing a window because someone's breaking in from the roof...)

Mr. P: (groggy grumble, gets up and shuts the window)

Me: "Oh My GOD...it's an earthquake! Everything's shaking!"

Mr. P: "You're fine. It's not an earthquake. It's just the wind, go back to sleep. You're probably dreaming again."

I've been known to have some bizarre dreams which, thankfully, Mr. P is wonderful at putting up with. Lately, I've had more than normal - they really only happen when I'm stressed, and I have to be sleeping on my back...but when I woke up and showered this morning, I really couldn't remember dreaming anything last night. And I KNOW I slept on my side all night. I got dressed and went into the living room, where Mr. P was watching the news.

Mr. P: "Yep, earthquake last night."

Me: "Told you so."

Mr. P: "So you really felt the bed shaking?"

Me: "Uh, YEAH."

Mr. P: "Really??? 'Cuz I didn't feel a thing."

Me: "Oh, for the Love...seriously, it's like someone stuck a quarter in, and the bed started vibrating."

Mr. P: "Huh. Well, have a good day!"

I'm not really panicked about any of it, but it amuses me that for once, my bizarre behavior was actually validated by something real :) I'm even more amused that Mr. P couldn't feel any of it!

Quick update

Bailey got her cast off on Tuesday. (Sorry, no pictures yet.) Her leg's so skinny! Slowly learning to walk on it, but favoring the other three...the injured leg just kind of flops around for now. We really expected that she'd have it on for another two weeks - I was getting excited for a new cast :) So no new cast, and still supposed to be calm for another month (do the doctors even realize that she's only 6 months old?!).

C's surgery was postponed because apparently, she also has pneumonia. They drained 7 liters of fluid from her abdomen on Tuesday. Yep, LITERS. Yikes. Surgery rescheduled for Monday, probably. Not looking good, but there are a lot of people out there praying for C, and I can't help but believe that she can get through this. C'mon, we Irish folk are fighters!

Hopefully I'll have a chance to get some Bailey pics up soon.

More ups and downs

Not Bailey related, so you can stop in advance if you want. Just need to get stuff out.

Up: Mr. P scored the internship he wanted :) It's still gonna be rough until he graduates, but SUCH an awesome step in the right direction! I'm stoked for him :)

Down: My mom called this evening to let me know that my aunt C has cancer. It's in her ovaries, uterus, colun, lungs, and esophagus. I'm devastated. One of the hardest things is knowing there's absolutely NOTHING I can do. C has always been the most welcoming and loving family member - she's always done everything for others. I've watched C step up and be such a wonderful aunt to her nieces and nephews, a strong and dedicated special education teacher, and beautiful person all around. It kills me that she lives in Indianapolis and I can't be there at the drop of a hat. C is a freaking amazing woman.

She found out on Thursday, and surgery is scheduled this week. Please keep C in your prayers. She is more deserving of a rewarding life than most anyone I know.

Other down: In the same conversation, mom let me know that Gramp (her father) isn't doing well. He's always been such a fighter, and survived multiple medical problems. Somehow, he makes it through each time. Now, he's fighting congestive heart failure, and it's not looking good.

I guess in general, please keep my family in your prayers. I know it's difficult for my mom to live in STL, 4 hours away from her immediate family in Indy, especially when she's always been the type to take charge and make everything better. As much as I hurt, it's even more upsetting to know that she's hurting. It's a lot to take in all at once, and I feel completely helpless...and scared.

Sad day today.

Bailey Blurb

Hi kids! It's me, Bailey. Mom decided to let me play on her blog again :) It's been a couple of weeks, but I have some updates to my leg, and everything's going well so far!

I'm done with my medicine, except for the tranquilizer. Mom and Dad weren't told to increase the dose after I finished one of my other meds, so I've been pretty high-strung. Come on, I'm a puppy! It's my job to be hyper! After the last follow-up visit, they found out they could give me a little more, so I'm starting to be calmer. They don't give it to me all the time, though...just when I'm jumpy and bouncing off the walls! It makes me pretty loopy, but I still get to take my pill in a Velveeta snack, which makes everything better :)

I thought I'd give one last reminder of my pretty purple polka-dotted cast. I've taken to sleeping with it propped up on my pillow, and sometimes I hide underneath. My leg gets pretty tired, and it's frustrating having this big thing to lug around!


Well, now I'm in a lime green one! I got to go visit Dr. Anderson again last Tuesday, and they took off my old cast. Mom says it's a good thing, because they took my stitches out and gave me a quick exam to see how I'm doing, but really, it just felt like they were pinching my leg a bunch!


It's kind of hard to tell, but my new cast has blue paw prints on it. I don't think it's quite as pretty as my old one, but it's certainly bright!


I have to wear protection when I go outside, because I'm not allowed to get the cast wet. It kind of sucks, and I look like an idiot. Mom and Dad took a Post-Disgrace newspaper sleeve to keep me covered. They call it my "sexy yellow legwarmer" but I know I look ridiculous. And with all the rain we've had...seriously, people. It's bad enough to be a lime green fashion statement, but yellow? Eewww.


I've been sitting sideways a lot. Mom says that I might do it forever. I guess a lot of doggies who've had my kind of surgery end up sitting funny, but that's OK, because I'm so darn cute :)


Mom thinks I've started laying in weird positions. What, this doesn't look comfortable?


So I'm doing alright. I think I look silly, though, with my shaved butt, lime green cast, and yellow legwarmer...I don't think I could be more embarrassed if Mom and Dad had actually tried to make me look so goofy. I know they're just trying their best to take care of me, so I'll let it slide.

I go back for follow-up x-rays on April 15 (and I'll get another new cast - keep your paws crossed for something pretty!), and I should have that one on for two weeks. With any luck, I'll be all better after that!

Purple

Carrie likes purple.